I did that. That was a stupid decision :icon17:

Lol. For me it was part of a cost/benefits analysis. Since I planned a lot in advance, I was also determining whether or not it was worth it to mod this platform extensively, or just go to another vehicle.

Hard to find a 500+ whp car for what I paid for this one though. Even if I blow an engine or two, I'd still come out ahead.

FTFY

There are plenty of $20-$25k AMG Mercs out there with fat V8s, possibly supercharged. But then maintenance on a larger engine (fluids, spark plugs, etc.) and the cost $$ of all the electrical do-dads that may fail....

Good note. I should also add that one of the benefits here was me doing it myself. Learning was a powerful motivator. That's a benefit with a real synergistic appeal - the more I mod, the more maintenance tasks I'm capable of.

I agree.

Let me just add that I have no problem with a Gear Head that has a great passion and has the financial means to pay for installs. If $10,000 felt like $100 to me, I'd be dropping my car off all day. :rofl2:

Absolutely. At a certain point, you have to determine if you have more money than time. I'm not quite there yet ;)

This weekend was close enough to 3k miles on the kit since the install that I decided to tackle routine maintenance. Oil change, drop turbo, clean filter, reinstall filter, reinstall turbo. Additionally, the oil leak at my thermostatic plate has continued, albeit very slowly and I wanted to clean that up.

-The oil leak was occurring where the threaded ports extrude from the plate for the AN fittings. The gaskets used for those ports are such that as you tighten the ports, they tear the gaskets. I replaced the gaskets with a set from a Mocal plate - the gasket is inset in a metal ring, preventing clamping from tearing the gasket. Easy fix, cleaned up the issue. I'll keep an eye on it, but so far so good.
-Dropping the turbo to clean the filter is time consuming. I knew that going in, but this was a good reminder. For those who have more money than time (and who are able to remove their engine mounts :icon14:) I'd recommend you get the BP filter relocation kit.
-The filter was pretty dirty. Considering it was only 3k miles I was a bit surprised at just how dirty. There was a little bit of heat damage on one end of the filter, just a small amount of bubbling, but this reinforces what others (Solidus) have stated. The location of the filter does mean it is subjected to radiant heating from the passengers side header.
-Greasing the turbo was pretty straightforward. Insert tube of grease into grease gun (included with kit). Remove cap. Pressurize grease gun. Trigger enough grease through the gun to ensure it's working. Fasten to zerk fitting (which hopefully you've left exposed). No mess, no cleanup.
-Replace turbo gasket with new, add filter to turbo, lift turbo back into place with minimal cursing, bolt in place.
-Spent way too much time trying to reconnect exhaust piping to turbo. This is a huge pain in the butt with the turbo blanket in the way. I said several adult words at that point. Another pair of hands would be a big help at this point, mostly with trying to balance the pipe, align it between turbo and the rest of the exhaust (lying on my back, grabbing the pipe with my knees) and clamp the v-band around the flanges with enough pressure that the threaded bolt extrudes (right hand) while trying to thread the nut on (right hand).

Reassemble and enjoy. Back to work today, ran like a top.

Picture of filter, melted section.

Seems like a PITA to greece the turbo every 3k mi... but I suppose it will keep you honest with oil changes. Meaning, if you are late on your oil change you will also be late on turbo lubrication.

Greasing the turbo is actually pretty easy. It's a zerk fitting, oriented down, so no turbo drop required for that part. Just attach the grease gun and give it a few pumps and you're done. The PITA is pulling off the air filter to clean it.

Its really not. Front end is up in the air already and the zerk fitting is easily accessible. While oil is draining I give her a couple of squeezes.

RJM 3.3 Pedal
 

Weekend update - installed the RJM 3.3 pedal, replacing the 3.1 version, and more importantly the Tilton HD CMC. I've seen very few (0) writeups on the Tilton CMC from a user perspective, and want to capture the... experience... while it's fresh in my mind.

For background, I had been using the RJM 3.1 pedal already. It's an excellent mod, I just happened to find a 3.3 with Tilton CMC for a good deal, and pulled the trigger.

Without giving too much detail, the 3.3 does have some significant improvements over the 3.1, most notably in the clevis pin design (picture 2). I'll try to get some decent pictures showing the difference in a future post.

The Tilton HD CMC is very different from the oem, both substantially shorter and entirely metal. Unlike the OEM CMC, it mounts from the drivers side footwell, not the engine bay. You'll have to trim back the carpet around the CMC slot, slide the new master cylinder into place, and use an aluminum bracket/spacer inside the drivers footwell. You'll use a 2nd spacer bracket in the engine bay, and a 3rd bracket bolts all of it together. This is a huge pain in the ***.

The spacers are cut in half - both in the engine bay, and in the footwell - with each half fitting around part of the master cylinder. I can conclude that the ideal candidate for this install possesses 4 arms, and is able to dislocate his shoulders. In the drivers side footwell, you'll be lying on your side, trying to orient the master cylinder and pin the spacer brackets in place (this was my job). In the engine bay, you'll need a trusted friend (who you are willing to lose as a friend forever) aligning the split bracket pieces, and the bracket that holds the brackets, so that you can slide bolts through the holes set for the OEM CMC. This was Craig the Blessed's job. This is somewhat complicated by the poor visibility you'll have while trying to align the holes. Once that's done, it's a simple matter to connect the new stainless steel line to a brass fitting in the driver's side wheel well, and reinstall the original reservoir.

You'll also need to bleed the clutch down to the brass fitting (which, btw, went really smoothly now that I have an idea of what I'm doing).

Picture 1 shows the new lines with the kit, picture 2 shows the clevis revision, picture 3 shows just a bit of the drivers side adapter plate/spacer underneath the RJM pedal, and picture 4 hints at the agony of the engine bay spacer and bracket.

As far as feedback - pedal feel improves substantially. My release point is higher and more consistent, and pedal effort is reduced. I'd recommend this mod, but be aware you will need either a helper OR a great deal more ingenuity than I possess.

You should give me your old version 3.1 pedal lol.

I don't know who you are. :tiphat:

It's JAR by another name.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

If it was Jar, he'd have offered some form of payment, like a "brojob" as he calls it

MadwiZday
 

In light of the cancellation of Zdayz 2020 due to Covid-19, the illustrious Madwi offered to host an event for some of the members on the forum. This has been captured in other threads, but I'll mention it here so I know where to find my notes again in future.

This was my first time in Michigan. The Grand Rapids area is a bit over 700 miles each way from Philadelphia, which, with stops, makes it around 11 hours of driving. We left Thursday the 2nd, stayed overnight in Pittsburgh with some of my wife's friends, and arrived at Madwi'z Estates Friday around 4:15 pm. Ghostvette, Zs Carpenter, Leingod, Bettyz, and JARblue had already arrived. Beers were had, pizza was consumed, cars were admired.

Day 2, Rusty and his wife arrived along with OldGuy. The corpses of millions of bugs were washed from cars, we enjoyed a 4th of July BBQ with Madwi as grillmaster, and eventually we took a late afternoon cruise out to Lake Michigan before returning to the manor house for light refreshments courtesy of the culinary skills of Lein and his paramour. We also celebrated Rusty and Chris's anniversary with cake, and Betty drank all the whiskey. Perfect end to a perfect day.

Drove home day 3. Stuck due to a car crash on I76 in midwestern PA. Wife did yoga on the highway. Rolled in around 8:30.

Now I just need to install my diff brace, courtesy of Rusty's Z Fab Shop!

Couple pics

Diff brace is in. Thanks again to Russ for the modification of the brace to allow easy fitment!

This is a simple job, one of the few that has actually been much less difficult than anticipated.

It is not necessary to remove your exhaust. This can be done with everything in place.
1) 2x 14mm bolts are removed from the diff cover. This should be very apparent.
2) Insert bushing into subframe. I believe this is 19mm or the equivalent. Russ shows this in his thread as well. I used the same technique - put it in the closed end of a wrench and used that to align it.
3) Align brace. Get a couple threads going on the top bolt, using fingers to tighten just a bit.
4) Align middle bolt. This can't be installed if the top bolt is not loose, because of the angle. You'll see what I mean.
5) Bottom bolt goes next.

Tighten everything up, remove car from jack stands or other contrivance used to lift car, test drive it.

Enjoy the huge difference this makes in loss of slop in your drivetrain. This is much more substantial and apparent than poly diff bushings or trans mount. No more clunky rear end.

It is no Castillo De Larson but I am glad it suited for your stay. :tup: It made me happy the two of you could make it, you both are most welcome at anytime.

Your home has one of the most desirable traits of any home - distance from other humans :icon17: If Megan was ok with it, I'd surround the Castillo De Larson with a dense forest. Or at least some land mines/mole traps or something!

Follow up on the diff brace - this thing is well worth the money. Dollar for dollar, it's probably my favorite mod, barring the BP turbo.

Need a couple of Claymores. Just make sure you point them the right way. Where it says, "Face Towards Enemy". Make sure that side is pointed away from the house. :tup:

I just have to provide my local UPS driver (a fellow Z enthusiast) with directions through the mine field, so he can bring me my Z parts.

Then let someone else sign for them & put them away :rofl2:

Dillon Aero's on remote towers would work well, along with overhead surveillance. :roflpuke2:

Today's update brought to you by the letter T

Did someone say C for cookies?!?!?

I hate cutting holes in my car but, the benefit out weighs it in this case. I hope you got all 3. The big one in the middle is the most important one.

I only did the sides. So far my temps have stayed pretty low, even with 10 hours of continuous driving, but I'm also not tracking the car, and at a lot less hp than you. If I start turning things up, I'll add the 3rd.

You may be OK where you live. The problem comes when you have the engine heat soaked, come up on stop and go traffic due to an accident, and then the temp gauge starts climbing while you are sitting there. You will start sweating cause
the gauge won't stop going up. Been there done that many time before in my 1975 280zt. Even had to shut the car off many times.

This is preventative measures on my part, another "just in case". So far I've been fine, but I'd like to keep it that way, and if it starts becoming an issue I'll definitely add the 3rd one. Good to know you've seen this as a problem, that makes me more aware of the possibility!

He has too. The guy that bought Ryan's old car also had the same issue. It is not uncommon at all with the 370ztt cars.

http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...peratures.html

Up-to-date list of parts
 

Updated Mod List:

BP Turbo Kit with Comp 6467 Oil-less turbo
750cc injectors
63 mm ported throttle bodies (Syno)
Z1 Ported Upper Mani
Fast Intentions CBE, 12" Resonators
Zspeed aluminum undershroud
Zspeed lightweight flywheel
Southbend Stage 3 clutch
Zspeed CMAK
Z1 bushing inserts
Z1 poly trans mount
Z1 20 mm spacers
Kawasaki Axle Nuts
Michelin P4S tires
TWM Short Shifter
Shift knob extender
Custom shift knob
RJM Clutch Pedal V3.3
HD Clutch Master Cylinder
Z1 Diff Cover
Z1 Poly Bushings
30 Row Oil Cooler
Bell Raceworks Diff Brace modified by Rusty
EcuTek tune by RT Tuning @ 506 whp/440 wtq on 7.5 psi boost

Z1 Intakes + Intake Upgrades - Removed for BP Kit
RJM Clutch Pedal V3.1 - Removed for rev 3.3
Fast Intentions Long Tube Headers - Removed for BP Kit

Waiting to go on car:
Trackspec Hood Vents
Z1 SS Brake Lines
Switch (to disable yaw sensor)
Catch Can System (will DIY) - no longer need with vent to atmosphere

Near Future:
CJM Fuel Return System
Wheels
Front Swaybar

More Distant Future:
Id1050x Injectors
Built Block
SPL Stuff

nice... :tiphat:

:iagree:

Up next is the fuel return system. Ordered a CJM S1.E fuel return kit through RT Tuning yesterday.

Amazingly the kit just came in this morning! That's much better than I anticipated.

Wow!!!! Over night delivery. Can't beat that at all. :tup::tup:

That's fast. :tup:. At least it didn't go to Guam and then Honalulu. :shakes head:

Isn't that the truth? :iagree:

Scheduled to drop the car on March 30th. I'm having RT do the work due to a shortage of time, first work I'm actually subbing to a shop (other than Big Russ's Z Car Emporium and Gun Shop). Also having them upgrade the wiring on the fuel pump and upgrading the fuel pump to the Walbro Hellcat 525 lph.

Looks like I'll eventually be building this thing for big power... the boost junkie label is real.